Still, the sheriff goes on to say, "Our country is under attack. And Barack Obama is the aggressor. That's right. Our own President has overseen the release of thousands of illegal immigrants...hundreds of whom are convicted criminals - even felons, which are flooding into America. ..."

There's a bunch of blah, blah, blah stuff after that and then, the money quote. The actual money quote.

"But I must tell you: the state of the U.S. - Mexican border IS NOT BEYOND OUR CONTROL. In fact, it's one of the key places where the safety of our nation starts. AND I am working around the clock to take criminals off the streets. Will you support my reelection campaign with a $15 or more donation right now?"

Later in the letter he bumps up his request to "$150, $100, $75 or even $35" because, the sheriff says, "I need your immediate financial support so I have the resources necessary to fight tooth and nail against Obama's operation flood."

"Operation flood?"

That doesn't make sense, does it? Of course not. And it doesn't matter. Requests like this from Arpaio have never made sense, but they have made money, particularly when the plea is picked up or passed along by high-profile conservative websites like the Drudge Report.

Will people fall for Arpaio's pitch again?

Are you kidding?

The sheriff called me late Monday afternoon to say that he has about $5 million in his campaign war chest. And to remind me that he needs it for when he runs for reelection in two years.

Yes, he's planning to run. Yes, he'll be 84.

"I know in two years they're going to zero in on me from all different directions so I'm just going to put enough money in the coffers to defend myself and get reelected," he said.

Like him or not, you've got to be impressed (okay, maybe the word you're looking for is horrified) by this guy.

He makes the scammers pretending to be deposed royal figure or a millionaire from Nigeria look like amateurs.